CYNTHIA A. BEHAN, RLA

Principal - Landscape Architect

Cynthia Behan provides design services for residential, commercial, institutional, open space and community planning projects. Her experience includes site planning and design for residential, commercial and institutional clients, as well as community parks and trail system planning and design. Cynthia's practice integrates community planning with design of public spaces. She brings her background in biology and ecology and understanding of plant materials into her practice at the site, neighborhood, and community scale. Cynthia particularly enjoys collaborations with other professionals and finding creative design solutions for both public and private clients.

JOHN J. BEHAN, AICP

Principal - Planning

John J. Behan, AICP, is a principal at Behan Planning and Design. After practicing as a city planner and then as a partner in a planning and design firm, Mr. Behan formed Behan Planning Associates in 1998. His work has been recognized with several national planning and conservation awards. His professional practice emphasizes turning knowledge into action and includes public involvement as integral to successful community planning. Mr. Behan's experience includes environmental reviews, comprehensive planning, waterfront revitalization, greenway and open space projects, resource conservation planning, grant writing, and economic development planning.

Richard R. Hopkins III, P.E.

Principal - Engineering

Mr. Hopkins is a licensed professional Engineer with 14 years of engineering experience as a project engineer and project manager. The scope of projects includes public and private development from residential subdivisions to commercial sites, roadway design, and municipal consulting. His experience includes all aspects of the evolution of a project from layout of the subdivision/site, hydrologic and hydraulic design and stormwater mitigation, grading design, sewer (gravity and force main), water main distribution and service design and testing, and project permitting and entitlements. Mr. Hopkins has a strong background in construction management and administration and field representation providing engineering oversight. As a Project Manager, Mr. Hopkins, has been responsible for all aspects of projects including; proposal, contract set-up, client relations, technical design, scheduling, scope and budget management.

MICHAEL B. ALLEN

Senior Associate

Michael Allen began his independent planning consulting practice in 2002 with the formation of Bailliere Consulting where he was Principal until joining Behan Planning and Design. His experience includes land use planning SEQR and GEIS reviews, developing zoning codes, build out analysis and design standards. As an architect, Mr. Allen has worked for noted international firms including Skidmore Owings Merrill, P.C., Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, A/E, P.C., and preservation architects Badger & Associates. Mr. Allen also served on the Planning Commission for the Town of Dorset, VT. and has a strong personal interest in community revitalization and land use planning projects.

Rebecca Nolan

Landscape Architect Consultant

Rebecca Nolan is a licensed Landscape Architect and holds degrees from Cornell University and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Over the past 10 years, she has worked in Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island on a multitude of planning, design and construction projects. At Harvard, Rebecca was a teaching assistant for the Innovation Field Lab, a think tank housed at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government that worked alongside local municipalities, helping them become data driven and collaborative across departments. Rebecca enjoys all aspects of the design process, but especially working with local communities to help them transform public spaces.

Dianna Blanchard

Business Manager

Dianna Blanchard comes to the firm with a variety of business management experience from her time in the sports and entertainment industry. Her range of experience includes human resources, revenue and expense reporting, event planning, inventory and vendor management, and data organization. Dianna assists with the firm’s financial management including invoicing, accounts receivable/payable, and project budget tracking and reporting. She oversees human resource functions and is involved in the firms business development through contract reviewing and proposal drafting.

About Our Firm

Behan Planning and Design is a nationally-recognized, award-winning landscape architecture, engineering, and community planning firm. Our mission is to help our clients envision and realize better places to live, work, and play for current and future generations. We do this by working collaboratively with them to create high quality, innovative, practical, effective, and environmentally-balanced places.

Our firm’s professionals are dedicated to building strong client partnerships and identifying ways in which property owners, residents, businesses, public agencies, and non-profit organizations can successfully plan and design for the future. Through thoughtful analysis and effective listening, our work results in creating places of lasting value.

To ensure effective listening, especially in our development projects and community planning efforts, public involvement is often an essential aspect of our work. We incorporate opportunities to hear the thoughts and concerns of potential users so that our work represents the best possible solution.

Our company is organized as a design professional corporation (D.P.C.) under the name of Behan Associates Landscape Architecture and Engineering, D.P.C., We do business as (DBA) Behan Planning and Design. Our founding principals each have over 25 years of professional experience and our company was founded in 1994. The firm is a certified woman-owned business enterprise (WBE) and is a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE).

COMMUNITY PLANNING

By establishing lasting relationships with communities large and small, urban and rural, we help them develop creative and implementable solutions with vision.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

We conduct green infrastructure planning and design at many scales, working within interconnected systems to foster ecological and ecoomic wellbeing,, and quality of life.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Our integrated planning and design practice allows us to bring big picture ideas to the ground, making great places a reality with close attention to both site detail and to overall intent.